Collapsible valve for dispensing apparatus and the like



D. A. MccowAN 2; 2,222

ARATUS AND THE LIKE Sept. 15, 1953 COLLAPSIBLE- VALVE FOR DISPENSING APP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1l lined Aug. 2. '194g4 lll/Ill Il INVENTOR. v 50W/'0' /VcCowa/z :BY @ah-f,

Sept. 15, 1953 nA. MccwAN COLLAPSIBLE VALVE FOR DISPENSING APPARATUS AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2. 1949 INVENTOR. McCou/a/z ATTORNEYS.

'in liquid dispensing ltion '-of z,a -liquid ftachedi thereto ruse upon a liquid Patented Sept. 15, 1.953

`UNITED STATES OF `F ICE COLLAPSIBLE VALVE uFOR. DISPEN SING APPARATUS ANDTHE'LIKE :David A..McCowan, TorontofOntario, Canada LApplication August 2, 1949, Serial N 051082182 4 Claims.

l1 My invention relates *inl general tto .liquid 'fdislpensing devices, and inparticular -to the valve mechanisms of such devices.

Itis well known to those skilled the -art that cftthe utmost importance that the `valve fconstruction be ivel'y simple-and that for sanitary reasons all Vparts thereof may be quickly and `thoroughly cleaned.

`It is therefore -a principal object of my finvention to provide -a valve for fromthe `tank` or container.

AnotherA object 'ofmyl device is t to provide `yvalve 'mechanism which isso simple 'thatit may be easily and thoroughlyy cleansed bypassing running fwaterthrough it.

Another Yobject is -to provide a valve having no `parts-requiring grinding -or close fitting-and Yone*whichis very-durable in operation.

`A `further lobject is to provide .a valve :mechanism fordispensing devices "which @shall be fof such Jconstruction that @the lvalve parts "thereof "mayrbe easily Yand @quickly renewed: at `little `texpense.

The above objects fand advantageshave .been accomplished by the .device shown 4in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. l fis a side fragmentary sectional .elevacontainer `With fmy Vdevice atiFig. I2 is a :slightly enlarged sectional `elevation talsen'ithrough-the vertical center lineofthe de- `vice and indicated Lby lineII-JII of l Fig. 3;

Fig. `3 is a side elevation of my'valve mecha- Ynism fs'howing it lremoved from the tank `dand ready to he cleaned;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view` ofmy invention with the housingcap removed;

Fig. `5 `,is an .isometric perspective View 'of .the `pressure members Yof my device;

...Figr Gris `a face view of a vmodified.formccif :op-

erating lever 'Fig A' 'is a side sectional View of the `form Loi' 4 invention `sliovvnjin .'Figf-and is taken online `deviceswwhichare used `for dispensing liquids `for human consumption, it is 555 to its closed position itxwillwbe :dis

`V i2-l `isscrewthreadedto the lower Aend thereof. This vring is in spaced relation with Athe 4,annular ange 1S of the 'bottom of thecontainen and the iange 42v2 of a.coupling member 2.3 :is .disposed Viin `this space. This `coupling Vmember -serves to connect Athevalvermechanism I1 tothe l container.

"My valve il 'l i comprises sa :housing `2li .of Vcylin- Jdrical shape '`2fl and the fupperifacesof thez'neckf25 of the :body Lpart'asoas to makea :Huid-tight 4joint at this The neck32-5;of.1the bofdypart is formed Awith anannularvioore .12E1in :which is mounted a rigid sleeve 30. This .sleevegis `iiared over at its i upper endil iitozform :a :fluid-tight joint `between "scribed,

The valvesmechanisrn of :my device comprises -a 4iiexilile.sleeve-135 which .has its Lupper tionary pressure membery was clearly shown in iFigs.- 4-v'and15plisprovided With :a substantially straight @tube-.engaging edge portion A8 which is lextended "into .and occupies fa .position near `the "axial centerline of the enlarged u chamber `of the housingzso that :Whentheztube 1,35 is vcompressed csedgsubsta-ntially at the center of the housing and the aperture of the cap. The stationary member is also formed with two spaced legs 42 thereby providing opposite guiding surfaces 43. A movable pressure member 44 is also provided which has its inner end portion slidably disposed between the guiding surfaces 43 of the stationary pressure member. The inner edge of this member is substantially straight and is formed with a rounded surface 41 which is substantially parallel with the tube-engaging edge portion of the stationary member for pinching the flexible tube 35 from both sides thereof. The movable pressure member 4i. is urged inwardly toward the stationary pressure member by means of two tension springs 45. The inner end of each of these springs is disposed within a slot 4@ formed in the side wall of the housing 24, and each is held in place by means of a pin 50 carried by the body. The outer end of each spring is mounted upon a pin carried at the outer end of the movable pressure member. These springs are arranged one on each side of and preferably straddle a slot 52 formed in the outer end of the movable pressure member. The actuating lever 53 of my device is disposed within this slot and has its upper end pivotally mounted within a slot 54 formed in an arm 55 which is preferably screw-threaded to the side of the housing. The lower end of the lever is provided with a transverse member 55 against which the tumbler or other receptable is pressed when it is desired to dispense liquid, as shown in Fig. l.

The stationary pressure member 4b may be secured within the slot 4l of the body in any desired manner, but I preferably provide two pins 60 which are carried by the housing and which pass through suitable registering apertures 64 formed in the stationary pressure member. Any tendency for these pins 60 or the pins 50 for the springs to become dislocated will be p-revented by the presence of the housing cap 34, the flange of which is large enough to extend over the lower exposed ends of these pins.

When my invention is to be adapted for use in connection with paper cups, it is desirable to increase the area of the transverse member of the actuating lever. Such a construction is shown in Figs. 6 and 'l where the actuating lever 6l is formed with a transverse member 62 which extends upwardly for some distance along the face of the lever. It is also provided with an outwardly extending ledge 63 upon which the cup may be rested when being filled.

Y From the foregoing it will be obvious that since the stationary and movable members of my valve have substantially straight coacting surfaces, the pinching action upon the tube which closes the valve requires but little pressure so that the valve may be readily opened by relatively light pressure against the actuating valve. Furthermore, should the flexible tube 35 become deteriorated, it may be readily removed from the housing by first removing the housing cap 34. After the old tube has been detached from the lower end 21 of the rigid sleeve 30, a new tube may be inserted in the open mouth of the housing and engaged with the lower end of said sleeve, after which the housing cap 34 will be replaced.

Obviously, some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims; and, I do not the exact embodi- What I claim is:

l. A valve for a liquid dispensing device adapted to be removably secured to said device, comprising a housing formed with an enlarged chamber and with a relatively large downwardly pointing mouth, a rigid sleeve removably carried by said housing and having a downwardly projecting end extending into said housing and in registration with the mouth thereof, a flexible tube carried by said sleeve and disposed within said housing, said sleeve having its lower end extending through the mouth of the housing, a housing cap screwthreaded into the mouth of the housing for supporting the lower end of said tube, said cap having a flange extending over the lower surface of said housing, said housing being formed in its lower end with a laterally arranged slot extending through one side of the wall toward the opposite side thereof, means for compressing said flexible tube to control the flow of liquid therethrough, comprising a stationary member and a movable member, each of said members being carried by said housing and disposed within the slot thereof, spring means for urging said movable member toward said stationary member, means for actuating said movable member to its open position, and detent pins carried by said housing and extending through said stationary member, said pins terminating at the lower surface of the housing and being located in that area of the lower face of the housing which is covered by the flange of the cap, whereby the pins will be retained in position.

2. A valve for a liquid dispensing device adapted to be removably secured to said device, comprising a housing formed with an enlarged chamber and with a relatively large downwardly pointing mouth, a rigid sleeve removably carried by said housing and having a downwardly projecting end extending into said housing and in registration with the mouth thereof, a flexible tube carried by said sleeve and disposed within said housing, said tube having its lower end extending through the mouth of the housing, a housing cap'screwthreaded into the mouth of the casing for supporting the lower end of said tube, said cap having a flange bearing against the lower surface of said housing, said housing being formed in its lower end with a laterally arranged slot extending through one side of the housing wall toward the opposite side thereof, means for compressing said flexible tube to control the llow of liquid therethrough, comprising a stationary member and a movable member, each of said members being carried by said housing and disposed within the slot thereof, said stationary member having two oppositely arranged legs forming substantially parallel guides for said movable member, spring means for urging said movable member toward said stationary member, manually actuated means for movable member, and detent pins carried by said housing and extending through said stationary member, said pins terminating at the lower surface of the housing, and being located at that area of the lower face of the housing which is covered by the flange of the cap, whereby the pins will be retained in position.

3. A valve for a liquid dispensing device adapted to be removably secured to said device, comprising a housing formed with an enlarged chamber and with a relatively large downwardly pointing mouth, a rigid sleeve removably carried by said housing and having a downwardly projecting end extending into said housing and in registration with the mouth thereof, a flexible tube body, said housing bei g formed with a laterally carrie by said sleeve and disposed Within said arranged slot extending through one side of the arranged slot extending through one side of the flexible tube for co-action with said stationary tionary member being disposed at one side of said trally arranged lever slot formed in the outer end exible tubo, a movable pressure member slidof said movable pressure member, detent pins ably disposed in the slot of the housing and havcarried by said housing and extending through `an actuating lever having` an over-hanging pivot bei', a tension spring disposed on each side of pressure member slot, a tension spring disposed said anchor pins being disposed in an aperture body, each of said anchor pins being disposed in exposed ends of said detent pins and covering springs, the ilange of the cap covering the anchor DAVID A. MCCOWAN.

pin apertures of said body and serving to retain said pins in position. References Cited in the file of this patent 4. A valve for a liquid dispensing device UNITED STATES PATENTS adapted to be removably secured to said device,

comprising a housing formed with an enlarged Nungezl M tl'me 111115371581865 chamber and with a relatively large downwardly 40 86498 Boailenlwal Feb 2 1869 pointing mouth, a rigid sleeve removably carried 143907 H de bet 1"1873 by said housing and having a downwardly pro- 729423 Scyh ibe Ma'y 26 1903 iecting end extending into said housing and 1n 898633 Edsn r "Sept 151908 registration with the mouth thereof, a flexible 1 36'2686 Fish Dec' 21 1920 tube carried by said sleeve and disposed within 2006196 Crowle Jun 25 1935 said housing, sa1d tube having its lower end ex- 2113'022 Hem y A r 51938 tending through the mouth of the housing, a cap 2217050 G Opt 8 1940 removably disposed within the mouth of the housmoves c ing and formed with an opening for the support FOREIGN PATENTS of the lower end of the tube, said cap having a 5o Number Country Date ange engageable with the lower surface of said 502 094 Great Britain of 1939 

